A Survey on Observing Professional Ethics Considerations among the Nursing Students at Ardabil University of Medical Sciences

Observing professional ethics is one of the most basic concepts of medical ethics. Investigating the status of observing professional ethics among nursing students, as the future staff of healthcare systems, is of great importance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the observance of professional ethics among the nursing students at Ardabil University of Medical Sciences in the Iranian academic year, i.e. from September 2019 to August 2020.

The present research is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of 210 nursing students, from the third to the eighth semester, of Ardabil School of Nursing and Midwifery, the Health Educational Institution of Meshginshahr and Germi Nursing School. To obtain the level of observing professional ethics among the students, the questionnaire of evaluating nurses' observance of nursing professional ethics, designed by Esmail Pourzanjani et al, was used. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20 software and statistical tests such as one-way analysis of variance, independent t and linear regression. Ethical Considerations: In all the stages of this study, ethical principles and data confidentiality were observed and the questionnaires were completed after obtaining informed consents and explaining the research objectives to the participants.

The results of the study indicate that the mean score of observing professional ethics among the samples was 4.20±0.96. The mean score of observing professional ethics was 4.29±1 in the domain of nursing and community, 4.25±0.9 in the domain of nursing and professional commitment, 4.27±0.94 in the domain of nursing and providing clinical services, 3.885±1.25 in the domain of nursing and the cooperation of the medical services team and 4.29±1.06 in the domain of nursing, education and research. In general, the mean score of observing professional ethics was satisfactory in all domains. In addition, the variables of the place of study, interest in nursing discipline, educational status and service department have significant relationships with the observance of professional ethics (P<0.05).

The results indicate the observance of professional ethics in the study population. Ethical responsibilities do not belong to a specific group, but to all the members of a profession. However, the development of nursing ethics will be more achievable when it is institutionalized, as ethical decision-making in real situations will only be possible through having the knowledge of ethical concepts and values.